I remember when I was a kid, (the last of five in our family) during dinner, I would sometimes ask my mother if I could have a little more. If the pot was empty, my mother would pick up her plate and spoon her own helping onto my plate. She never balked, she never hesitated. She didn't complain, or question, or tell me I was greedy. When I would see her lift that plate, I would be embarrassed and beg her not to give me her own food, but she would have none of that. That one selfless gesture -- so readily repeated -- did so much to build trust between my mother and me. My mother took her job as CNO (Chief Nuturing Officer) very seriously. And, I always knew I could count on my mother.It was
Hurrah! I am so thrilled! We have a new Internal Staff Auditor AND the board showed some backbone and read out a formal censure against Zepora's bad behavior a couple of weeks ago when she threatened Channel 46 CBS reporter Wendy Saltzman. The board presented themselves more professionally than ever before. In fact, Jay started off the meeting by stating that he had never felt such cooperative working with this board ever. Anyway, back to the auditor. They have hired a real pro. (This - on top of Dan Drake's capable data collection is very hopeful for the future.) His name is Gary Babst and he has 22 years of experience as an internal business auditor, having worked for GM in Detroit. He
This video highlights the theory that too much of the wrong kind of praise can actually harm children's success in school. It comes to us from a book recommended by one of our bloggers, called "NurtureShock" by Po Bronson.Very interesting stuff! I found it fascinating that the American mom refused to deliver the bad news to her child that she had done poorly on a test, contrasted with the Chinese mom who very matter of fact told her child she did not score well and then sat with her to go over her errors and show her how to get to the right answer. Are we harming our children by giving too much of the wrong kind of praise? Are we so afraid to let them experience difficulties that we shiel
Charles Leadbeater searched the globe for education methods that work - and found them in surprising places."Imagine an education system that started the day with a question, not from knowledge to be imparted. Or started with a game, not with a lesson. Or started with the premise that you have to engage people first before you can possibly teach them."Watch this 18 minute talk and then check out the example of innovation he mentions called Big Picture schools. Download the brochure here.
According to the AJC, DeKalb school board protects whistleblowers. The DeKalb County school board is implementing a whistleblower policy, which officials say is the first in the state to prevent retaliation against school employees who report wrongdoing.In addition to the whistleblower policy, the school board voted Tuesday to add or amend policies on purchasing, an employee code of ethics and staff conflict of interest. The policies are all designed to deter a full-scale investigation into the district’s accreditation.Click on the link above to read the entire AJC article highlighting the policies passed as a first response to SACS requests of DCSS leadership.
We've been discussing the new attendance data posted online here, by the DCSS Planning Department. Two new documents are available. One is called Enrollment Report, by school, by grade, which details enrollment numbers school by school as well as capacity and available seating. The other chart is called, "Attendance Area and Enrollment Report, home schools only" and details the attendance numbers as well as the number of students who live in the attendance zone compared to the numbers who transfer in or out of those attendance zones (a process as easy to tackle as herding cats). In fact, there are 550 students from "unknown" locations as well as 465 out of the district altogether.Other t
During the rare down time that Sequoyah Middle School does not occupy my thoughts, discourse, or actions, I pretend to be a third year doctoral student. After completing the most draining academic year of my student life (note: doctoral student and first
PRESS RELEASEDr. Kirk A. Nooks, candidate for District 5, DeKalb County Board of Education, will be out on Sunday, September 5 and Monday, September 6 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., seeking to meet the “DeKalb Grill-masters.” Dr. Nooks notes, “This gives me another opportunity to go out in the community, meet residents, share our message, and enjoy the Labor Day holiday.” Dr. Nooks and his family will be “sniffing out” the DeKalb grill-masters in District 5. So fire up the grill over this Labor Day weekend, and do not be surprised in Dr. Nooks swings by to hear your thoughts on how he can be the best serve the students and citizen of DeKalb County. If you would like to schedule Dr. Nooks fo
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